Video: Did Biden get his brother a lucrative contract in Iraq?

Ed MorrisseyPosted at 2:01 pm on October 23, 2012

Joe Biden’s younger brother James stands to earn millions of dollars in post-war construction in Iraq, thanks to his long experience in the construction industry. No, wait, James Biden doesn’t have much experience in construction. All right, he stands to make millions due to his long experience in investing in South Korean construction firms and doing business in Iraq. No, wait, he doesn’t have any experience in either of those fields, either. How, then, did James Biden work his way into a partnership with a South Korean firm to build 100,000 homes in Iraq, a project that will be financed by the Iraqi government?

David Richter, the president of Hill International (HIL), a mid-sized outfit that manages construction projects, was speaking last year at a private meeting with investors when he was asked about the recent success of his newest subsidiary, HillStone International.

How was it that HillStone, a newcomer in the business of home building, landed a massive and potentially lucrative contract to build 100,000 homes in war-torn Iraq?

Richter didn’t mince words. It really helps, he said, to have “the brother of the vice president as a partner,” according to a person who was present.

The “brother” Richter was referring to during the meeting is James Biden, the younger brother of Vice President Joe Biden.

Since November 2010, James Biden has been the executive vice president of Hill International’s housing subsidiary despite little if any documented work history in residential construction. And if the company’s projections are accurate, both Hill and Biden are on the verge of a huge payday, beneficiaries, some analysts believe, of James Biden’s connections to the Obama Administration through his older brother. …

And if the deal does happen, a chunk of that $1.5 billion will flow to the biggest connection Hill has to government: James Biden. Hill International owns a 51% stake in HillStone; a group of minority partners, including Biden, hold the rest. That means that the minority partners would split roughly $735 million, pocketing millions of dollars even after expenses are paid.

“There’s plenty of money for everyone if this project goes through,” said Hill International’s chief executive, Irv Richter, who founded the company 40 years ago.

I’m sure this was all just a coincidence, including the state dinner that Biden attended that just happened to include a delegation from South Korea. After all, this is the administration of Hope and Change, where personal connections, cronyism, and corruption no longer exists. Right?